


Carefully Planned Schedules

by PetrichorIllusions



Category: Kaleidotrope (Podcast)
Genre: Alt-POV, Background Harridew obvs, Background Relationships, Canon Compliant, Hal is the light of my life, I've got no clue how to tag this thing I'm so sorry tag-wranglers, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 17:57:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17708981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetrichorIllusions/pseuds/PetrichorIllusions
Summary: "She knows she used to complain about Drew firing his cohosts, but it turns out that Drew flirting with them is just as bad."Kaleidotrope, but from Hal's point of view. Because I freakin love her





	Carefully Planned Schedules

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to Bee for her unrivaled knowledge!

 

She loves Drew, she really does, but he _needs_ to stop firing his cohosts.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

Hal has been working on the student radio since her first week at Sidlesmith, and by now, she knows what she’s talking about. And the thing about Drew is that he could really, truly be great. He has the voice, he has the wit. If he’d consider _listening_ to her more that would be ideal, but, you know. He’s still learning. He’s best with someone to bounce off still though, and she thinks they both know it. Hell, she’d do the show with him herself if she had time. It’s been fun every time it’s happened before. But running the studio on top of her studies is too much as it is, so here she is. Sat at the bar of an open mic night, trying not to roll her eyes too obviously at the fedora’d guy on stage right now. Sidlesmith isn’t a place for booing, but even they’re getting close.

 

His slot ends ( _finally_ ), and there’s a lull. She’s not really paying attention to the start of the next set, until suddenly she is, and he’s just -  perfect. They’re going to be _glorious_.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

She approaches him afterwards, tells him to listen in. He replies three and a half minutes into Drew’s next show. Not that she was waiting.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

“Be nice.” She tells Drew before their first show together. He’s... not, and they’ll have words about that later, but then Harrison just — takes it all in his stride. She’s never seen anyone thaw Drew’s dislike so quickly. It’s impressive - from both her perspective as producer and her perspective as Drew’s friend.

 

She gives Harrison an approving smile on his way out, and pretends she doesn’t notice just how much he relaxes at the approval. She doesn’t think it’s relevant just yet to tell him how thankful she is that he’s the thing that’s finally snap Drew out of this mood he’s been in.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

She thought that maybe she’d found Drew another friend. But, she’s realising, that’s not quite what Harrison is aiming for.

 

Drew owes her more, frankly, for the amount of time she spends intervening to get him out of awkward conversations. Assuming he’s actually managed to notice Harrison blatantly flirting, which - well. He’s been more oblivious before.

 

Also, they really do need to move on.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

“You owe me a drink.” She tells Drew, flat, after someone gets fucking _kidnapped_ on her show.

“That’s fair,” Drew allows, and proceeds to get them both mightily drunk.

 

“I mean, you know what else we could talk about?” She says some time later.

“Oh no” Drew mumbles, and tries to slide away. She hauls him back, and okay, maybe she’s a _little_ tipsy, but she ends up hugging him, somehow.

“You’re a dumbass,” She tells him.

“Oh, I’m well aware.” He replies, and she frowns at him.

“Nope,” she decides. “No self loathing tonight.” And makes him walk her home, even though it’s across campus.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

She knows she used to complain about Drew firing his cohosts, but it turns out that Drew flirting with them is just as bad.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

She buys popcorn for their fifth episode together. Drew looks at the popcorn, looks at her, then shrugs and steals a handful.

Then he offers some to Harrison, and gives her a lazy salute in response to her (perhaps obscene) hand gestures.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

One day, she’s not going to bother coming up with a set plan for these bloody assholes.

Although actually, their ratings are through the roof.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

She’s watching Harrison’s livestream, of course she is. He takes up a corner of her laptop screen as she gets ready for the Rose Dance, and she’s paying vague attention to him as she puts her eyeliner on.

She starts paying more attention when they start shouting at each other, clearly oblivious to the fact they’re still recording.

 

Drew’s roommate messages her, and she’s hoping for advice, or at least moral support. What she gets is, “rip ur sock hop broadcast”. She replies with a selfie, middle finger clearly visible.

 

There are only so many back-up plans she can think of. Knowing Drew, she thinks he’ll turn up, but whether he’s in any state to broadcast - and broadcast the Sock Hop, of all things - that’s. Well. There’s no doubt he’ll try, but god, it’s going to cost him a lot. Whether she can get him to agree to let someone else cover, she doesn’t know.

 

He’s calmer than she expects when he does arrive, but Drew has always been good at hiding his emotions.

“So we need a new schedule, I guess.” He says. She gives him a look, and he returns it evenly. Ah. He’s going to be stubborn about this, it seems.

 

They’ve not really got time, but she drags him off to the side to replan, cutting things out and noting down potential ideas. She’ll text in herself if necessary, if he’s not going to agree to let her sit there with him.

Once they’ve brainstormed as much as they can, she stops, puts a hand on his sleeve.

“Drew...” she starts, but really, what is there that she can say?

It’s enough, though. He drops the facade, lets her see in. She pulls him into her arms, and he buries his face in her shoulder.

She’s running through the words in her head, trying to work out how to tell him that he doesn’t have to see this through, when he pulls away. She watches as he packs his emotions away for later, chin raising and shoulders squaring.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” He says, and what else can she do but let him try?

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

To be fair, Drew never has stuck to her carefully planned schedules.

 

And to be fair, this is not Drew as she’d expected. It’s not the clusterfuck she was expecting. It’s - good. It might even be some of his best. Enough so that she can relax, can actually listen to what he’s saying. The Squirrel Story is not one she’s heard before.

The Squirrel Story is something that, as Drew’s best friend, she maybe probably ought to have known. She’d known he’d been down at the start of the semester, but not this much. It being the start of her final year doesn’t really seem like reason enough to have missed this.

 

He calls her out for crying, right in front of everyone, but she thinks she might forgive him just this once.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

And then, all of a sudden, everything seems to be fine again.

So she doesn’t feel bad in the _slightest_ for the feedback.

 

..-. ..-. ...

 

Talking about orgasms definitely hadn’t ever been in the schedule. Neither had narrating the Rose Dance.

But for now, for this, she thinks she’ll let them have it.


End file.
